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This text was adapted by The Saylor Foundation under aCreativeCommons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0License

withoutattribution as requested by the work’s original creator or licensee.

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Preface

Our purpose in this volume is to introduce you to the concepts of strategic public relations. Our basicassumption is that you have somegeneral knowledge of management and business terminology; wewill help you to apply that to the discipline of public relations. Our text is based in current researchand scholarly knowledge of the public relations discipline as well as years of experienceinprofessional public relations practice.

Whether you are reading this book to learn a new field, simply to update your knowledge, or as partof an educational program or course, we value every moment that you spend with it. Therefore, wehave eliminatedmuch of the academic jargon found in other books and used a straightforwardwriting style. We tried to make the chapters short enough to be manageable, but packed withinformation, without an overreliance on complicated examples or charts and diagrams. Wehope thatour no-nonsense approach will speed your study.

We use a few original public relations case studies that we have written for you so that you can seethe concepts we discuss illustrated and applied. This book is divided into three large parts:



Chapter 1 "The Importance of Public Relations: UPS Case",

Chapter 2 "What Is PublicRelations?",

Chapter 3 "Models and Approaches to Public Relations", and

Chapter 4 "Public Relationsas a Management Function"

focus on the importance of the profession, its taxonomy, the academicresearch showing how public relations should be conducted, and the function as a part ofmanagement.



Chapter 5 "Organizational Factors for Excellent Public Relations",

Chapter 6 "Public Relations andOrganizational Effectiveness",

Chapter 7 "Identifying and Prioritizing Stakeholders and Publics",and

Chapter 8 "Public Relations Research: The Key to Strategy"

offer a look at organization, itsstructure, effectiveness, and how the public relations process is managed—through the relationshipswith publics and stakeholders, conducting research, and the process of strategically managing publicrelations.



Chapter 9 "The Public Relations Process—RACE",

Chapter 10 "The Practice of PublicRelations",

Chapter 11 "Ethics, Leadership and Counseling,

and Moral Analyses", and

Chapter 12Saylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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"Best Practices for Excellence in Public Relations"

provide an advanced discussion of public relationsspecialties by types: corporations, agencies, government and public affairs units, nonprofits, NGOs,and activist groups. We offer guidance for perhaps the most difficult situations in public relations—counseling upon ethics and taking a leadership role—and finally we discuss what research showsregarding how to make the public relations function the best it can be.

Werecommend reading the book in this order to build upon the logical flow of terminology,processes, and management knowledge. Here is a closer look at what we discuss.

To introduce the critical function of public relations to an organization and to show how

publicrelations can work to prevent issues and crises, we begin with a case study of United Parcel Servicein

Chapter 1 "The Importance of Public Relations: UPS Case". Then we emphasize what was learnedin this case from the failure of public relations in order to prepare in advance for any contingency.In

Chapter 2 "What Is Public Relations?", we introduce the taxonomy of the profession and theconcepts prevalent in the strategic management of relationships with publics, and introduce somedifferent names associated with this function.

Chapter 3 "Models and Approaches to PublicRelations"

is an exceptionally important chapter because it introduces the models and approaches topublic relations that provide a taxonomy for evaluating communications efforts.The models ofpublic relations are introduced through a brief history of the field, and we also examine thesubfunctions or specialties within the profession. Numerous key definitions are provided to help yourapidly master the lexicon of public relationsand its professional practice.

Chapter 4 "Public Relations as a Management Function"

discusses the inclusion of public relations asa management function, roles and access to the C-suite, decision making, and the core competenciesfor working in business,including knowledge of strategy and profit motivations. We discuss howchief communications officers (CCOs) earn their seat at the executive table. Much real-worldprofessional experience in business settings provide the backbone of the chapter.

Chapter 5"Organizational Factors for Excellent Public Relations"

is extremely important because it discusseshow public relations should be organized and structured, and how it should “fit” within the largerorganizational culture in order to provide it with the maximum opportunity for success. The chapterdraws on research from public relations scholars, business management scholars, and organizationalSaylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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theory.

Chapter 6 "Public Relations and Organizational Effectiveness"

provides an in-depthdiscussion of how organizations define success, and how the stakeholder management approach topublic relations can provide a concrete strategy for enhancing organizational effectiveness and cancontribute to the long-term sustainability of organizations.

How strategic public relations is practiced is covered in

Chapter 7 "Identifying and PrioritizingStakeholders and Publics". Strategic public relations begins with identifying and prioritizing yourpublics, and building ongoing relationships with them, based on the advanced concepts ofstakeholder management. Research is an essential element in strategic public relations and anoverview of those methods is provided in

Chapter 8 "Public Relations Research: The Key toStrategy", as well as an explanation of the importance of research in strategy and inmanagement.

Chapter 9 "The Public Relations Process—RACE"

gives an overview of the four-stepprocess of strategic public relations management, abbreviated as RACE, and associated processes ofanalysis and planning.

The more advanced discussions of public relations as a strategic management function beginswith

Chapter 10 "The Practice of Public Relations". It provides a detailed look at the profession byhighlighting the locales in which it is practiced, and it offers a discussion andapplication of theconcepts presented earlier throughout this text. We attempt to integrate these theoretical conceptsinto the real-life structure of day-to-day public relations, and include a couple of case examples forillustration.

Chapter 11 "Ethics,Leadership and Counseling, and Moral Analyses"

establishes theethical and moral guidelines for practicing principled public relations that enhance the socialresponsibility of organizations and allows public relations managers to take leadership roles inadvising the top levels of their organizations. We follow that discussion with a look inside the toplevel of the Home Depot Corporation. Finally,

Chapter 12 "Best Practices for Excellence in PublicRelations"

sums up the book by illustrating the best practices for excellent public relations. Thatsummary of current research will reinforce your understanding of the lexicon of modern publicrelations management, how research says that it can be practiced most effectively, and theimportance to an organization of strategic communication. That importance can be seen in theEntergy/Hurricane Katrina case that concludes our book.

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We hope that you enjoy this executive text as we seek to help you master the dynamic field that isstrategic relationship creation andmaintenance through communication management.

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Chapter 1

The Importance of Public Relations: UPS Case

Public relations can truly mean the difference between life and death for an organization, or thedifference between profitability and failure. Thefollowing case illustrates the importance of publicrelations as a means to maintain ongoing, beneficial relationships, to systematically listen to andunderstand the concerns of publics—in this case, internal publics and a labor union and the externalpublic of news media. Ongoing public relations initiatives, such as strategic issues management,could have prevented the problems encountered by the organization in the following case. The casealso demonstrates that an organization can recover its footing and repair its reputation andrelationships, once it acknowledges its mistakes and commits to changing course. The followingseries of events highlight the importance of ongoing, strategic public relations as the very lifeblood ofan organization.

[1]

[1]

Case based on classroom lecture and interviews with Kenneth Sternad (personal communication, March 30,2009; September 2009). Information also based on

UnitedParcel Service (2009).

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1.1

A Conflict Unfolds

United Parcel Service (UPS), the world’s largesttransportation and logistics company, faced adifficult set of challenges as the year 1997 began. The company, founded in 1907, plays a vital role inboth the U.S. and global economy. UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories and deliveredmore than 3.8 billion packages—15 million packages a day—in 2008. The company achieved $51.5billion in 2008 revenues and has more than eight million customer contacts per day. It is the secondlargest employer in the United States and the ninth largest in the world with 427,000 employees.UPS carries approximately 6% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and 2% of global GDP.

UPS had a long and, for the most part, positive relationship with the International Brotherhood ofTeamsters, the union that has represented

UPS employees since the 1920s. In 1997, that relationshipwould be severely tested and the resulting impact on the company would be profound.

Negotiations with the Teamsters began in early January of that year, even though the existingcontract didn’t expire until 12:01 A.M. on August 1, 1997. UPS negotiates a national contract with theunion every 4 to 6 years, and prior to 1997 there had never been a national strike by the unionagainst UPS. The company is the largest employer of Teamsters in the country, with 225,000members.

The president of the Teamsters was Ron Carey, a former UPS driver from New York City, who—according to many accounts—had left the company with a profound dislike for UPS. Carey had wonreelection as president of the Teamsters in 1996, an election that later resulted in an investigationbased on allegations of illegal fund-raising and kickbacks. As negotiations with the Teamsters began,Carey’s opponents within the union were attacking him, seeking to erode his support and petitioning

for possible new elections. Many believed there was a high likelihood that the federal investigationwould result in Carey’s election being overturned. Although UPS was not aware of it as negotiationsbegan, Carey had been quietly preparing the union fora strike. He needed to make a show of forceand leadership to galvanize his support in anticipation of rerunning for the presidency if the electionwas nullified.

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At the start of negotiations the primary issues focused on traditional areas such as wages and healthand retirement benefits. But two other areas proved to be far more important, especially in thecommunication battle that developed as negotiations began to break down. One of these was jobsecurity. UPS had utilized part-time employees for many years, and the Teamsters wanted thecompany to commit to the creation of a higher percentage of full-time jobs, with a guaranteedminimum number of these jobs.

A second underlying issue that heavily influenced the negotiations was control of the pensions forUPS employees in the union. At the time negotiations began, the Teamsters union controlled thepension fund, one of the largest funds in the United States. UPS questioned how the fund was beingmanaged, the future pension security of its employees, and wanted a separate pension fund for itsemployees who were Teamsters.

As the negotiations began to deteriorate, the company began planning contingencies at all levels,including

public

relations. In 1997, UPS was still a privately held company. The public relationsdepartment was small, with only 10 management employees and a limited budget of $5 million in theUnited States. There were few trained spokespeople, since the company did not have the publicdisclosure obligations typical of publicly traded firms. The public relations department functionsincluded product publicity, financial communications, reputation management, and executivecommunications through aspeaker’s bureau. The function was also responsible for overall messagedevelopment, crisis management, sponsorships, and event support. But it was understaffed andunderfunded to deal effectively with the global attention UPS was about to face.

The contract negotiations continued to unravel throughout the summer of 1997 and culminated withthe Teamsters rejecting UPS’s final contract offer on July 30. At that point, federal mediatorsintervened and continued negotiations through August 3. As the talks concluded at the end of theday, the union indicated it would return to the table the next day.

Without any forewarning, the Teamsters union announced to its members that evening that it wouldstrike. Ron Carey held a press conference early in the morning on August 4 confirming a nationalstrike and encouraging all UPS workers to walk out. The Teamsters had been developing a full-courtSaylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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media blitz, which they launched that day with a well-coordinated campaign using television, radio,and print.

The UPS strike instantly became the top national and local news story throughout the United States.The strike affected operations in more than 1,800 locations in all 50 states and generated mediainterest in every large-

to medium-sized city. The UPS public relations office received more than20,000 phone calls during the strike. According to Ken Sternad, who headed the function at thetime, “We got slaughtered in the press.”

The strike lasted 15 days and had a severe impact

on U.S. and global commerce, costing UPS $750million in lost revenue and related expenses. In the view of Sternad, the Teamsters won thecommunication battle largely because they had “key messages that played well.”

“They focused their messaging around the theme of ‘Part-time America won’t work’ and that caughton with the media,” said Sternad. “The Teamsters had clearly tested and researched this message andthe others they used. They communicated early and often, including holding twice-daily pressbriefings in Washington, DC. The Teamsters stayed in control of the message and it worked forthem.”

Sternad also pointed to the way in which the union put a human face on the issue by showcasingunhappy UPS workers, especially those with part-time employment.

They effectively engaged third-party experts and made effective use of the Internet.

During the strike, UPS established a clear set of guiding principles and never wavered from these.The company’s number one objective was to get a good contract; winningthe public relations battlewas not an objective. “We had decided early on that we would not attack the union leadership andnot make our people a target,” remembers Sternad. He continued,

We knew that we would need our people with us for the long term and

we didn’t want to do orsay anything that would tarnish the image of the UPS driver. They will always be the face of thecompany and our link to our customers and we didn’t want to alienate them.

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In preparing for the strike, UPS did have a formal crisis communications plan in place and they haddeveloped a specific communications plan in the event of a strike. The public relations team hadcompiled extensive facts and figures about the company and had trained regional spokespeople inadvance of a strike. They had also identified third-party experts who could point out the manypositives of the company.

In retrospect, the company acknowledges that they could have done a better job of handling thecommunication before and during the strike. Says Sternad,

We had essentially no communications in the first 24 hours. Our messages simply didn’t resonatewith the media or the general public, including our customers. We realized that we had notadequately tested our messages before or during the crisis. And we were much slower to utilizethe web than the Teamsters. In the end we just didn’t have the proper resources aligned tomanage the crisis.

UPS learned valuable lessons from the experience that have served them well in preparing for futurecrises. Sternad notes,

The real work begins before the crisis hits. The PR team must make decisions for the long-termand stay focused on priorities. As in all crises, the first hours are the most critical. How thecompany responds initially sets the tone for the rest of the crisis period. That is why advanceresearch is so critical. Message testing is fundamental to effective communications, but it must bedone before the crisis hits.

We also saw clearly that in your messages you need steak

and

sizzle, facts along with powerfulimages that touch people’s emotions, not just their intellect. We now cultivate and use thirdparties on an ongoing basis so that we know them and they know us long before a crisis. Wemaintain standby web sites that can be turned on instantly in the event

of a crisis. As painful as itwas at the time, I think we’re a much stronger and better prepared company because of thisexperience.

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Though UPS may have failed to gets its point across in the heat of the 1997 battle, the longer termstory turned out differently. After the strike was settled, Teamsters president Ron Carey wasremoved from office, expelled from the union, and banned from participating in labor activities forlife as a result of his involvement with election irregularities.

The Teamsters hadretained control of the pension plan after the 1997 strike, but its financial healthcontinued to erode in the years that followed. Pension benefits were cut, the retirement age wasraised, and UPS ultimately negotiated a separate pension plan for more than 40,000 of its Teamsteremployees previously in the union plan. It cost UPS more than $6 billion to exit the union plan andcover its liabilities, compared to a fraction of that amount it would have cost if they had been grantedcontrol in 1997.

Following

the resolution of the strike, UPS saw its strongest growth and most profitable years in1998 and 1999. In 1999, UPS became a publicly traded company through the largest initial publicoffering of its stock in the history of Wall Street.

A year later, UPSwas named by

Forbes

magazine as its “Company of the Year.”

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1.2

What Can Be Learned From the UPS Case?

Although UPS ultimately overcame the setbacks it incurred from the Teamsters strike of 1997, thecompany would have much preferred avoiding the strikealtogether. Clearly, the strike had anadverse impact on the company’s reputation, an impact that took years to reverse. The casedemonstrates the importance of developing and maintaining relationships, even with those whomyou may feel are adversaries. In

this case, the company underestimated the Teamsters willingness tocall for a strike. They also miscalculated the underlying resentment of Teamsters members towardthe company. Once the strike was under way, the company began to regain its footing. Managementconsciously chose not to vilify its employees, even though they had walked off the job. This strategyproved to be a key in limiting the long-term damage from the strike and allowing UPS to recover itsreputation and rebuild labor relations within a relatively short time.

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Chapter 2

What Is Public Relations?

Public relations is a conduit, a facilitator, and a manager of communication, conducting research,defining problems, and creating meaning by fostering communication among many groups insociety. The United Parcel Service (UPS) case illustrated the importance of this communication, bothin financial terms—the strike cost UPS about $750 million—and in terms of reputation with strategicpublics.

Public relations is a strategic conversation.As you might imagine, it is an ephemeral and wide-ranging field, often misperceived, and because of the lack of message control inherent in publicrelations, it is difficult to master. Public relations is even difficult to define. Is it spin or truth telling?Either way, the public relations function is prevalent and growing; the fragmentation of media andgrowth of multiple message sources means that public relations is on the ascent while traditionalforms of mass communication (such as newspapers) are on

the decline.

You can find public relations in virtually every industry, government, and nonprofit organization. Itsbroad scope makes it impossible to understand without some attention to the taxonomy of thisdiverse and dynamic profession. Learning the lexicon of public relations in this chapter will help youmaster the discipline and help your study move quicker in subsequent reading.

Corporate and agency public relations differ. These concepts are discussed in detail in a laterchapter, along with nonprofit public relations and government relations or public affairs. For thepurposes of an overview, we can define corporate public relations as being an in-house publicrelations department within a for-profit organization of any size. On the other hand, public relationsagencies are hired consultants that normally work on an hourly basis for specific campaigns or goalsof the organization that hires them. It is not uncommon for a large corporation to have both an in-house corporate public relations department and an external public relations agency that consults onspecific issues. As their names imply, nonprofit public relations refers to not-for-profit organizations,foundations, and other issue-

or cause-related groups. Government relations or public affairs is theSaylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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branch of public relations that specializes in managing relationships with governmental officials andregulatory agencies.

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2.1

Defining Public Relations

Among the many competing definitions of public relations, J. Grunig and Hunt’s is the most

widelycited definition of public relations: Public relations is “themanagement of communication between anorganization and its publics.”

[1]One reason this definition is so successful is its parsimony, or usingfew words to convey much information. Italso lays down the foundation of the profession squarelywithin management, as opposed to the competing approaches of journalism or the promotion-basedapproach of marketing and advertising that focuses primarily on consumers. The component parts ofGrunig

and Hunt’s famous definition of public relations are as follows:



Management. The body of knowledge on how best to coordinate the activities of an enterprise toachieve effectiveness.



Communication. Not only sending a message to a receiver but also understanding the messages ofothers through listening and dialogue.



Organization. Any group organized with a common purpose; in most cases, it is a business, acorporation, a governmental agency, or a nonprofit group.



Publics. Any group(s) of people held together by a common interest. They differ from audiences inthat they often self-organize and do not have to attune to messages; publics differ from stakeholdersin that they do not necessarily have a financial stake tying them to specific goals or consequencesofthe organization. Targeted audiences, on the other hand, are publics who receive a specificallytargeted message that is tailored to their interests.

As “the management of communication between an organization and its publics,” public relationshas radically departed from its historical roots in publicity and journalism to become a managementdiscipline—that is, one based on research and strategy.

[1]

Grunig and Hunt (1984),

p. 4. Emphasis in original.

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2.2

The Function of Public Relations

In 1982,the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) adopted the following definition of publicrelations that helps identify its purpose: “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adaptmutually to each other.”

[1]

In its “Official Statement on Public Relations,” PRSA goes on to clarify thefunction of public relations:



Public relations helps our complex, pluralistic society to reach decisions and function more effectivelyby contributing to mutual understanding among groups and institutions. It serves to bring privateand public policies into harmony.

institutions. To achieve their goals, these institutions must develop effective relationships with manydifferent audiences or publics such as employees, members, customers, local communities,shareholders and other institutions, and with society at large.



The managements of institutions need to understand the attitudes and values of their publics in orderto achieve institutional goals. The goals themselves are shaped by the external environment. Thepublic relations practitioner acts as a counselor to management and as a mediator, helping totranslate private aims into reasonable, publicly acceptable policy and action.

[2]

As such, the public relations

field

has grown to encompass the building of important relationshipsbetween an organization and its key

publics through its actions and its communication. Thisperspective defines the field as a management function and offers insight into the roles andresponsibilities of public relations professionals. The PRSA definition, however, is not perfect: Amain weakness of that definition is that it requires public relations “to bring private and publicpolicies into harmony.”

[3]

In reality, we know that the relationships an organization has with all of itspublics cannot always be harmonious. Further, that definition obligates us to act in the best interestof both the organization and its publics, which could be logically impossible if those interests arediametrically opposed. A few examples would be class action litigation, boycotts, and oppositionalSaylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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researchand lobbying; despite the negative nature of those relationships, they still require publicrelations management and communication.

The unique management function of public relations is critical to the success of any organization thatengages people in its

operation, whether they are shareholders, employees, or customers. Althoughmany people think of publicity as the sole purpose of public relations, this text will help youunderstand that publicity is a subfunction of the overall purpose of public relations and should notbe confused with the broader function.

[1]

Public Relations Society of America (2009b).

[2]

Public Relations Society of America (2009a).

[3]

Public Relations Society of America (2009b).

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2.3

Naming the Public Relations Function

A plethora of terms has come to be associated with modern-day public relations practice. Because ofthe disreputable beginnings of public relations that we will briefly discuss next, it is often the casethat organizations will choose to name their publicrelations function by another moniker. Thesevarious terms create much confusion about the responsibilities of public relations versus overlappingor competing organizational functions. The term corporate communication is the most commonsynonym for public

relations in practice today,

[1]

followed by marketing communication and publicaffairs. We view the term corporate communication as a synonym for public relations, although somescholars argue that corporate communication only applies to for-profitorganizations. However, weview

corporate

communication

as a

goal-oriented communication process that can be applied not onlyin the business world but also in the world of nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations,educational foundations,

activist groups,

faith-based organizations,

and so on. The term publicrelations often leads to confusion between the media relations function, public affairs, corporatecommunication, and marketing promotions, leading many organizations to prefer the term corporatecommunication.

We believe that the key component of effective public relations or corporate communication is anelement of

strategy. Many scholars prefer to use the phrase

strategic

public

relations

to differentiate itfrom the often misunderstood general term public relations, or “PR,” which can be linked tomanipulation or “spin” in the minds of lay publics.Strategic

communication

management, strategicpublic relations, and corporate communication are synonyms for the concept displayed in thepreceding definitions. To scholars in the area, public relations is seen as the larger profession and anumbrella term, comprising many smaller subfunctions, such as media relations or public affairs orinvestor relations. The subfunctions of public relations will bedelineated later in this chapter.Academics tend to use the term public relations, whereas professionals tend to prefer the termcorporate communication. Do not be distracted by the name debate and the myriad of synonymspossible. Whatever name you preferor encounter, a strong body of knowledge in the field, based onacademic study and professional practice, has solidified the importance of the concepts supportingthe strategic communication function that we will discuss in this text.

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[1]

Bowen et al. (2006).

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2.4

Chapter Summary

This chapter has provided an introduction to the purpose of public relations. Although the publicrelations function goes by many different names, it is essential to understand that it is a uniquemanagement function thatcontributes to an organization’s success through its focus on developingand maintaining relationships with key publics. Those publics are generally employees, financialstakeholders or shareholders, communities, governments at many levels, and the media.It is alsoimportant not to confuse the overall purpose of public relations with its subfunctions, such aspublicity and media relations. These subfunctions will be defined in the next chapter and covered inmore detail in

Chapter 10 "The Practice of Public Relations".

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Chapter 3

Models and Approaches to Public Relations

Although there were ancient public relations—as far in the past as ancient Greece—modern-daypublic relations in the United States began with a group of revolutionaries mounting a public

relations campaign to turn public opinion in favor of independence from England and King George.The revolutionaries effectively used words and actions to mount a successful activist campaignleading to the Revolutionary War. Thomas Paine’s

Common Sense,published in 1776, gave rise to thesentiment that England’s governance under King George III was unjust. The subsequent

Declarationof Independence

and outward acts of protest were largely influenced by the rhetorical argumentsfound in Paine’s pamphlet,which has been called the most influential tract of the AmericanRevolution. Slogans, such as

Don’t Tread on Me, and use of printed materials, such as Colonialnewspapers, were key message tactics used to sway opinion in favor of a revolution and a war for

independence. Following the independence,The Federalist Papers

were used to ratify the UnitedStates Constitution. These 85 essays were, according to the assessment of Grunig and Hunt,exemplary forms of effective public relations.

[1]

These founding fathers of the United States used public relations to build the public consensusnecessary for a budding nation to form a new kind of government and establish the human rightsnecessary for the nation to survive.

[1]

Grunig and Hunt (1984).

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3.1

TheHistorical Development of Modern Public Relations

Modern public relations in the United States can also be traced back to less illustrious beginningsthan the creation of a new democratic republic.

[1]

P. T. Barnum, of circus fame, made his mark byoriginating and employing many publicity or press agentry tactics to generate attention for his showsand attractions. Barnum was famous for coining the phrase, “There’s no such thing as badpublicity.”

[2]

He was even known to pen letters to the editor under anassumed name outing some ofhis attractions as hoaxes just to generate publicity and keep a story alive. Unfortunately, Barnum’sethics left much to be desired.

Barnum thought thathonesty was not the domain of a press agent, and infamously stated, “The public befooled.”

[3]

Droves of press agents followed in Barnum’s tracks, in efforts to get free space in the news fortheir clients, ranging from Hollywood figures to private interests, such as railroads, and also politicians.This approach to public relations was termed

press

agentry

by Grunig and Hunt because of its reliance ongenerating publicity with little regard for truth. For modern-day examples, we have to look only to theentertainment publicity surrounding a new film release, or the product publicity around a new energydrink or a new technological gadget. Publicity and press agentry are synonymous terms meaning simply togenerate attention through the use of media.

Thenext historical phase resulted in a new model of public relations that Grunig and Hunttermed

public

information. In this approach to public relations, a former journalist works as a writerrepresenting clients, issuing news releases to media outlets in the same style as journalistic writing. Theidea of the public relations specialist acting as a counselor to management, as opposed to a simplepractitioner of press agentry tactics, was born. The pioneering public information

counselor

was a mannamed Ivy Ledbetter Lee, who revolutionized public relations practice at the time with the idea of tellingthe truth. Lee studied at Harvard Law School, but went on to find a job as a journalist. After working as asuccessful journalist for a number of years, Ivy Lee

realized that he had a real ability for explainingcomplicated topics to people, and had the idea of being a new kind of press agent. Rather than tricking thepublic, Lee saw his role as one of educating the public about truthful facts and supplying all possibleSaylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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information to the media. Ivy Lee opened the third public relations agency in the United States in 1904,representing clients such as the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Rockefeller family, and the Anthracite CoalRoads and Mine Company.

[4]

Lee becamethe first public relations practitioner to issue a code of ethics in1906, based on his declaration that “the public be informed”—to replace railroad tycoon CommodoreCornelius Vanderbilt’s infamous statement, “The public be damned.”

[5]

Ivy Lee ushered in

a morerespectable form of public relations that is objective and factual. His public information approach is stillin use today, especially in government reporting, quarterly earnings statements, and similar reportsintended simply to inform.

Both the press agentry and public information models of public relations are based on writing andtechnical skill with images, words, Web sites, and media relations. These concepts are based on a one-waydissemination of information. They are not management-based models because strategic management isbased on research. Research is what makes management a strategic pursuit based on knowledge and datathat comprise two-way communication, as opposed to a simple one-way dissemination of informationbased on assumptions.

The next two models of public relations are based on research. Using research to gather public opiniondata led scholars to label these models two-way rather than one-way because they more resemble aconversation than a simple dissemination of information. Grunig and Hunt termed the two managementmodels

asymmetrical

and

symmetrical.

The

asymmetrical

model

was pioneered between 1920 and 1950 by Edward Bernays, nephew ofpsychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, and is based on the principles of behavioral psychology. Public relationsresearch seeks to determine what publics know and understand or believe about the client

organization,issues of importance, and so on. Then, in the asymmetrical model, once these beliefs are learned throughpolling and other means, they are incorporated into the public relations messages distributed by theorganization. It is called asymmetrical because it is imbalanced in favor of the communicator; thecommunicator undergoes no real change, but simply uses the ideas she knows will resonate incommunicating with publics with the purpose of persuading them on some issue or topic. For example,ifSaylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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I am a politician running for reelection and my research identifies tax cuts as an important topic withpublics, then I include the importance of tax cuts in my next campaign speech. Research is a keycomponent of this model, as it seeks to persuade publics to adopt the attitudes and beliefs that arefavorable to the organization based on the collection of data about their existent beliefs.

The

symmetrical

model

was also pioneered by Edward Bernays and several prominent public relationspractitioners and

educators between about 1960 to 1980. It seeks also to use research on public opinionjust as the asymmetrical model does. However, it does not use research with the intent to persuade, but tobuild mutual understanding between both publics and organizations. Organizations are open to changingtheir internal policies and practices in this model based on what they learn from their publics. It is acollaborative approach to building understanding, and, although not perfectly balanced, it is a

movingequilibrium

in which both sides in the communication process have an opportunity to have input andchange an issue. To revise this example, after research identifying tax cuts as an issue, a symmetricalpolitician would actually incorporate tax cuts into her belief system and offer ideas supporting thosebeliefs on the campaign trail.

In modern public relations, we often see a mixing of the public relations models among multiple tactics orcommunication tools within one public relations campaign. It is best to think of the models as theoreticalconstructs that, in implementation, become combined through the mixed motives of public relations. Inmost cases, public relations professionals not only want to aid their employer or client but also to assistthe publics outside the organization to access and understand the inner workings of the firm. This

mixed-motive

approach

is based on the real-world contingencies that impact public relations decisions, and thedesire to facilitate communication on both sides of an issue,

both for organizations and for publics.

Summary of the Models of Public Relations

In summary, the historical development of the field showed four distinct models of public relations, asidentified by Grunig and Hunt. With this brief background in the history of public relations, you likelyknow enough about the models now to begin employing each in your public relations management. All arestill in use in public relations practice today, and these terms are used in the academic literature and inpublic relations management. The one-way models are not based on social scientific research but on aSaylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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simple dissemination of information. The two-way models are based on research, which is what makesthem the two-way management model. In order of their development,the models are as follows:

Two-way asymmetrical. Two-way (research), which isimbalanced in favor of persuading publicsto support the organizations’ interests.



Two-way symmetrical. Two-way (research), which is more balanced in terms of creating mutualunderstanding; moving equilibrium.

Due to the

mixed-motives

inherent in the public relations process, public relations professionals will mostlikely use a combination of these models in public relations management. These models suggest an overallphilosophy of public relations, while situations require different approaches. Therefore,

it is also useful tohave public relations strategies that reflect a contingency of varying approaches, as discussed later in thisvolume.

[1]

Cutlip (1995).

[2]

Grunig and Hunt (1984), p. 28.

[3]

Grunig and Hunt (1984), p. 29.

[4]

Grunig and Hunt(1984), p. 32.

[5]

Hiebert (1966), p. 54.

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3.2

The Subfunctions of Public Relations

Before we delve deeper into the profession, we would like to introduce you to the subfunctions orspecialties within public relations. Think of the public relations function as a large umbrellaprofession encompassing many subfunctions. Those subfunctions are often independent units withinan organization, sometimes reporting to public relations and sometimes reporting to otherorganizational units such as legal, marketing,

or human resources. Learning the subfunctions andthe lexicon of terminology associated with this function is crucial to understanding how to managean integrated and effective public relations function. The following subfunctions will be discussed inmore detail later in this volume.

Although there are many subfunctions that make up public relations, most people would identify twomajor types, corporate and agency.

Corporate, or “in-house,” is a part of the organization or business.It functions to create

relationships between an organization and its various publics. The second typeof subfunction is associated with the

public

relations

agency; its purpose is to assist organizations in aspecific area of expertise.

Typical Corporate Public Relations Subfunctions

It is important to note that each subfunction may differ according to organizational structure and size, aswe discuss in

Chapter 5 "Organizational Factors for Excellent Public Relations", “Organizational FactorsContributing to Excellent Public Relations.” Sometimes the public relations subfunctions overlap and onedepartment (or even one person) is responsible for many or all of these activities. Large organizations,particularly those with multiple locations doing business internationally, will sometimes have multipleunits covering just one of these subspecialties in public relations. Oftentimes the public relations functionis structured with a separate department handling each of the responsibilities.

Issues Management

Issues

management

is arguably the most important subfunction of public relations. Issues management isthe forward-thinking, problem-solving, management-level function responsible for identifying problems,trends, industry changes, and other potential issues that could impact the organization. IssuesSaylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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management requires a formidable knowledge of research, environmental monitoring, the organization’sindustry and business model, and management strategy.

Media Relations

The

media

relations

subfunction is likely the most visible portion of public relations that an organizationconducts because it deals directly with external media. The media relations subfunction is a largelytechnical function, meaning it is based on the technical skill of producing public relations materials, oroutputs.

Outputs

are often related to tactics, and examples of tactics include news releases, podcasts,brochures, video news releases for the broadcast media, direct mail pieces, photographs, Web sites, presskits, and social media (digital media).

CommunityRelations

As the name implies, the

community

relations

subfunction is responsible for establishing and maintainingrelationships with an organization’s communities. Normally this territory implies a physical community,as in the borders of manufacturing facilities with their residential neighbors.

Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Oftentimes the functions of strategically donating funds or services and a corporate social responsibilityendeavor are part of the public relations department’s efforts. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requirescorporations to hold to a code of ethics and to report on their socially responsible conduct. The publicrelations subfunction responsible for this reporting usually is called the CSR unit or departmentand oftenis combined with or managed by community relations.

Financial and Investor Relations

Many managers do not realize that public relations is the function responsible for writing anorganization’s annual report, quarterly earnings statements, and communicating with investors andmarket analysts. This type of public relations normally requires experience with accounting and financialreporting.

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Marketing Communications

Marketing

communications

is also known as integrated marketing communications or integratedcommunications. Publicity and product promotion targeting the specific public consumers is the focus ofthis subfunction. Public relations strategies and tactics are used primarily through a press agentry modelmeant to increase awareness and persuade consumers to try or buy a certain product.

Government Relations and Public Affairs, Including Lobbying

The public affairs of an organization are the issues of interest to a citizenry or community about which anorganization must communicate. Government relations handles maintaining relationships with bothregulatory agencies and appointed and elected officials.

Internal Relations

Maintaining an effective and satisfied workforce is the job ofinternal

relations. Public relationsprofessionals who specialize in internal relations have the primary responsibilities of communicating withintraorganizational publics, executives, management, administrative staff, and labor.

Typical Public Relations Agency Subfunctions

In addition to the general media relations activities offered by many public relations agencies, sevenspecializations or subfunctions commonly exist.

Crisis Management

Crisis

management

involves both planning for and reacting to emergency situations. Organizations have aneed for quick response plans and fast and accurate information provided to the news media that publicrelations agencies specializing in crisis or risk management often provide and implement in the case of acrisis.

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Lobbying

As an adjunct to the government relations or public affairs unit of the corporation, anexternal

lobbying

firm may also be hired. Lobbyists normally have expertise with the industry for whichthey are hired to communicate, and maintain relationships with legislators,press secretaries, and othergovernmental officials. They often provide educational documents, policy analysis, and research to thosein government on behalf of clients.

Member Relations

The public relations subfunction known as

member

relations, as the name implies, is responsible formaintaining good relationships with members of an organization. These members may be alumni, donors,members of activist or support groups, or virtually any group distinguished by a commonality andrequiring membership.

Development and Fund-Raising

The public relations subfunction of

development

fund-raising

often overlaps with member relations inthat it seeks to build support, particularly in the form of financial donations or government grants.

Polling and Research

Pollingand research are carried out to such an extent within public relations that specialized firms exist toconduct these activities full time, usually on a contract or retainer basis. It should be noted, however, thatvery large organizations often have theirown research “departments” within one or more public relationssubfunctions.

Sports, Entertainment, and Travel Public Relations

Specialized forms of public relations exist as public relations subfunctions for each of these very largeindustries.

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Advertising

Although advertising is a separate profession from public relations, it is usually employed as part of apublic relations campaign.

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3.3

Chapter Summary

This chapter has provided the basic knowledge of public relations models and subfunctions (bothcorporate and agency) necessary to understand and expand your knowledge of this vast and ever-changing profession. The models and subfunctions are those that generally comprise publicrelations, although they do vary by industry. The organization size, type, amount of governmentregulation, and even the organization’s competition will determine whether it has all or some ofthese subfunctions present in-house, outsources them as needed, or relies on public relationsagencies. Normally an organization will have a majority of the subfunctions on this list. They may bestructured as part of the public relations department, or as independent units reporting to it, toanother function, or to senior management.

Knowing the terminology related to the subfunctions helps to identify different forms of publicrelations and combinations of these efforts in practice. In order to achieve the most with publicrelations initiatives, it is important to know which subfunctions must exist, which work well with oneanother, and which need independence or autonomy. Further in the book, we will apply thisknowledge to examine the structuring of the public relations department and subfunctions. We willexamine how organizational structure has an impact on the models of public relations employed andthe subfunctions that exist in practice.

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Chapter 4

Public Relations as a Management Function

In theopening chapters, we provided an overview of public relations, including definitions, a briefhistory of the profession, and a description of the models and subfunctions common in theprofession. In these chapters, public relations was defined as a uniquemanagement function thatuses communication to help manage relationships with key publics. In this chapter, we will expoundon this management function, explaining why companies need public relations and how the publicrelations function is comprised of specialized roles.

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4.1

Functions of Management

Organizations usually have several management functions to help them operate at their maximumcapacity: research and development, finance, legal, human resources, marketing, and operations.Each of these functions is focused on its own contribution to the success of the organization. Publicrelations’ unique function is to help the organization develop and maintain relationships with all ofits key publics and stakeholders by effectively communicating with these groups. Communication iskey in maintaining a satisfactory, long-term, trusting relationships with publics and stakeholders.

As described earlier, public relations provides the greatest value to an organization when it isused

strategically. But what does this really mean? Think of it this way: In an effective organization,all the major functions are linked together by a common set of strategies that tie in to an overallvision of the future and an underlying set of values. Perhaps a computer company has

as its vision,“To become the low cost provider of computing power to the developing world.” From this vision,senior management develops a set of strategies that address areas like sourcing, the manufacturingfootprint, marketing, design, human resourcedevelopment, and product distribution. When all theelements are in sync, the company grows in a steady, profitable manner.

An important component of this set of strategies is a

communication

strategy. For example, it will becritical that all employees in

the organization understand that strategy and their role in executing it.Many business failures are ultimately attributable to the confusion caused by poor communication.How many times have you received poor customer service from an employee in a restaurant or retailoutlet? In all likelihood, the organization that employed this worker intended for him or her todeliver good service to you. But somewhere along the line the communication flow broke down.Perhaps the employee’s direct supervisor or the store manager was not an effective communicator.Whatever the cause, the end result is a dissatisfied customer and diminished loyalty to therelationship.

In addition to reaching employees, a successful organization must also communicate effectively withitscustomers, its suppliers, and if it is a public company, its shareholders. For each key public, a setof messages must be developed as well as a plan to reach the public in the most efficient way. If theSaylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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company is targeting young people with its message,a high-impact article in theWall StreetJournal

is going to completely miss the mark for this strategic public. If instead the public is highnet-worth investors, a clever YouTube video may also not be the right answer.

Although public relations has a unique and important function within organizations, it is oftenpracticed differently depending on the role the top communicator plays within the organization, aswe discuss next.

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4.2

Public Relations Roles

In general, public relations professionals can be communication managers who organize andintegrate communication activities, or they can be communication technicians who primarily writeand construct messages. Research in this area led to the identification of four specific roles: thetechnician role andthree types of communication managers.

Most practitioners begin their careers as

communication

technicians. This role requires executingstrategies with the communication tactics of news releases, employee newsletters, position papers,media placements, Web site content, speeches, blogs, and social media messaging. Practitioners inthis role are usually not involved in defining problems and developing solutions, but base theirtactics on the technical skill of writing. The

expert

prescriber

is similar to the role a doctor performswith a patient: He or she is an authority on a particular industry, problem, or type of public relationsand is given the primary responsibility to handle this function as a consultant or with little input orparticipation by other

senior management. Thecommunication

facilitator

is a boundary spanner wholistens to and brokers information between the organization and its key publics. According to Cutlip,Center, and Broom, the goal of this role is “to provide both management and publics the informationthey need for making decisions of mutual interest.”[1]

The

problem-solving

facilitator

collaborates withother managers to define and solve problems. This role requires that the professional is a part of thedominant coalition of theorganization and has access to other senior managers. The problem-solving facilitator helps other managers think through organizational problems using a publicrelations perspective.

Research on these four roles found that the communication technician role

was distinct from theother three roles and that the latter three roles were highly correlated.

[2]

In other words, an expertprescriber was also likely to fulfill the role of the communication facilitator and the problem-solvingfacilitator. To resolve the lack of mutual exclusiveness in the latter three roles, they were combinedinto one role:

communication

manager. The dichotomy between the communication technician andthe communication manager more accurately explained the responsibilities of public relationspractitioners within organizations.

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Research indicates that practitioners in a predominantly technician role spend the majority of theirtime writing, producing, and placing communication messages.

[3]

Typically, those in this role arecreative and

talented with language and images. Their capacity to create and produce messages withpowerful imagery and evocative language is very important to the execution of public relationstactics. However, technicians rarely have a seat at the management table and do not have a voice inthe strategy of the organization. Once the strategy is decided, the technician is brought in to executethe deliverables (or tactics) in the strategy.

The communication manager is involved in the strategic thinking of an organization and must beable to conduct research and measurement and share data that informs better decisions formanaging relationships with key publics. The communications manager thinks strategically, whichmeans he or she will be focused on the efforts of theorganization that contribute to the mutuallybeneficial relationships that help an organization achieve its bottom-line goals. These efforts are notlimited to communication strategies, but include monitoring an organization’s external environment,scanning for issues that might impact the organization, and helping an organization adapt to theneeds of its stakeholders.

A study on excellence in the practice of public relations found that one of the major predictors ofexcellence was whether the role of thetop public relations executive was a manager role or atechnician role.

[4]

Those in the management role were much more likely to have a positive impact onthe organization’s public relations practice. In order for corporate communication to functionstrategically, the executive in charge of the function must have a place at the decision-making table.

[1]

Cutlip, Center, and Broom (2006).

[2]

Dozier and Broom (1995), pp. 3–26.

[3]

Broom and Dozier (1986), pp. 37–56.

[4]

Grunig, J. E. (1992).

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4.3

TheC-Suite

Virtually all organizations are run by a senior leadership team that is responsible for setting strategyand carrying out the organization’s vision. Although publicly traded companies, as well as nonprofitorganizations, may be governed ultimatelyby a board of directors, this board looks to the chiefexecutive and his or her senior team to operate the company on a day-to-day basis.

The key functions in an organization include finance, headed by a chief financial officer (CFO); legal,which reportsto the General Counsel; human resources, led by a chief personnel officer (CPO);information services, reporting to the chief information officer (CIO); marketing, often led by a chiefmarketing officer (CMO); and communication, which reports to the chiefcommunications officer(CCO). These functional areas serve the operations of the company, which in some cases report to apresident or chief operating officer. In many cases the CEO also is president/COO (chief operatingofficer) of the organization.

Although organizational structures vary from company to company, these basic functional areas areusually present in the senior team. In some cases, the communication function is subordinated underanother area, such as marketing, legal, or human resources. When this is the case, it becomes moredifficult for the senior communications leader to play a meaningful role in the strategic decision-making process. The communication function brings to the senior team a different perspective fromthese other areas. Thelegal function is focused primarily on compliance with the law; marketing isfocused primarily on the company’s competitive position with the customer; human resources (HR)is focused almost exclusively on employee compensation and development issues. In other words,communication is the only function with eyes on

all

the publics inside and outside of theorganization, and should be included in strategic decision making.

Role of Communication in Decision Making

One of the common denominators for officers in

the C-suite is the imperative to make good decisions thataffect their ability to positively contribute to the goals of the organization. The ability to make gooddecisions often defines a valuable manager. To make good decisions, managers need good information. BySaylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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definition, good information helps reduce uncertainty in making a decision. Rarely is a decision madewith utter certainty, but managers need enough information to have confidence that their decisions willresult in positive consequences. This information is provided as data regarding these various functions:product testing, market research, legal precedents, and financial statements. Since public relations’ role isto help the organization develop and maintain good relationships, it must provide data or informationabout how the organization can achieve this. This is how strategic public relations earns its seat at theexecutive table.

The communication function looks at all the stakeholders in the organization and uses a variety of toolsand tactics to enhance relationships with these publics. At its best, the communication function usesresearch and monitoring methods to keep a finger on the pulse of internal and external perceptions of theorganization. It uses a variety of communication channels to enhance the organization’s reputation. Andmost importantly it provides strategic counsel to the organization’s leaders to help the team make betterdecisions.

Some have suggested that the communication function serves or should serve as the

corporateconscience. They contend that communication leaders have a uniquely objective perspective that allowsthem to weigh the sometimes conflicting needs of different publics and to help the organization makemore balanced decisions. Although there is much truth to this perspective, we add that the conscience ofthe organization, its moral obligation to do the right thing, is one that is shared by all who lead it,including the CEO, the board, and the senior management team.

As the top communication professional, the CCO has an important responsibility to ensure that all keystakeholders are given due consideration when critical decisions are made. In that regard, the CCO acts asthe voice for many who are not in the room when choices are made. He or she must keep in mind theminority shareholders, overlooked employee segments, nongovernmental organizations, special interestgroups, elected officials, community leaders, and others who may be affected by the decision and whohave influential roles in their respective areas.

By providing this overarching perspective, the CCO does much more than deliver tactical communicationproducts. This strategic counsel is what CEOs and other leaders are increasingly seeking in all members ofSaylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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the senior team. By delivering it,the CCO enhances the value of the function and ensures ongoingparticipation in charting the future course for the company.

Strategy and Profit Motivation

Public relations as a profession is often thought of as nothing more than a simple set of tactics. Far toooften those in the profession are portrayed in the media and in popular culture as a group of empty-headed party planners or deceptive flacks willing to say anything to get publicity for their clients. Thetools of the trade—news releases, press conferences, media events, employee newsletters—are consideredas discrete tactics that rarely if ever are driven by an underlying strategy.

This, like other stereotypes, is simply not supported by fact. As practiced by most large organizations andagencies, public relations is an integral part of overall strategy. Communication programs are developedbased on extensive research to address specific business objectives with stated outcomes, targetaudiences, and key messages. The results of these efforts can bemeasured, both qualitatively andquantitatively.

Think of it this way: When an organization develops a strategic plan, it usually does so with a relativelysmall number of key executives. These leaders look at the company’s strengths, organization, challengingissues, and potential problems that could arise. They consider the organization’s financial position, itsgrowth prospects, its competitive position, and the changing landscape in which it operates.

When they have considered all of these factors, they

map out a strategy that will build on the company’scurrent strengths, address its relative areas of weakness, take advantage of opportunities, and prepare forlooming threats. They may decide, for example, to be the low-cost provider in their industry segment. Orthey may decide to take advantage of their expertise in new product development, or to exploit theirsuperior distribution network.

At some point, the strategy must be executed by a much larger, geographically dispersed network ofemployees. This is where the communication strategy becomes crucial. If a company has a long trackrecord of fighting with its employees over issues like pay, benefits, union representation,child careSaylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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programs, or workplace safety, it will be much more difficult to call upon them to launch a new initiativeaimed at improving customer service.

In large measure, an important role of the communication function team is to help balance the needs ofall publics—employees, investors, customers, communities—as the organization makes key decisions. Forexample, assume that a company is facing financial difficulties due to declining market share in one partof the United States. They are faced with thedecision of closing a regional plant since that level ofmanufacturing capacity is no longer needed. In the past, they simply might have turned to the publicrelations executive and said, “We’re closing the Milwaukee plant. Try to put a good face on it.” Anorganization that views the communication function as a strategic partner instead would say,

We’ve got too much manufacturing capacity; operations is recommending that we closeMilwaukee. We’d like you to take a look at the impact this will have with our

employees,customers, and the community there and help us measure this as we examine the alternatives.There may be another choice that won’t be as painful to the organization.

Balancing the needs of publics is just one facet of the impact publicrelations can have on achievingorganizational goals. It obviously depends on the organization, but in almost every case, effectivecommunication programs help drive strategy from conception to delivery. Successful internalcommunication programs can improve the ability of supervisors to motivate employees and build pride inthe organization. Creative external communication programs can improve customer relationships, buildbrand recognition, encourage investor interest in a publicly traded company, and increase theeffectiveness of traditional advertising and marketing efforts. Community outreach programs can helplocal residents appreciate the impact of a company on the surrounding area in which it operates. Theimpact of well-conceived strategic communication programs can be profound, and many companies havealready benefited by recognizing this importance and building upon the strengths public relations bringsto the table.

In 2007, the Arthur W. Page Society, a membership organization of chief communications officers at thelargest corporations, agency CEOs, and leading academics, produced a white paper called

The AuthenticEnterprise.

[1]

The report examined the evolving role of the senior communications executive in 21st-Saylor URL:http://www.saylor.org/books

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century business. According to this report, the role of the CCO is much broader than it was even a fewyears ago. The CCO of today and tomorrow must assert leadership in the following:



Defining and instilling company values



Building and managing multistakeholder relationships



Enabling the enterprise with “new media” skills and tools



Building and managing trust

[2]

The communication executive does not own these responsibilities alone. They are shared with othermembers of the leadership team. But the communication executive can and shouldtake a lead role inensuring that these responsibilities are fulfilled by the organization.

Business Acumen

Having a seat at the decision-making table is not a right, it is a privilege. Think of it this way: If you wereplanning an extended trip to Mexico,

you would probably want to brush up on your Spanish beforeembarking. You could probably get by without speaking Spanish, but you would be far more effective andmuch better accepted by the locals if you at least made an attempt to speak their native language.

It is not so different at the management table. There the participants are speaking the language ofbusiness. They are talking about margin performance and market capitalization and earnings growth.They are discussing business strategy and market share and competitive position. If you are notconversant in this terminology and the thinking behind it, you are at a distinct disadvantage as a teammember.

The Page Society surveyed chief executive officers at large multinational corporations to determine

howthese CEOs viewed the role of the chief communications officer in a successful executive team. Accordingto results reported in the

Authentic Enterprise

white paper, the most important attribute of an ideal CCOor communications manager was detailed knowledge of the business.

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This is far and away the most critical quality for a top communications executive. All CEOsbelieve that their businesses are large and complex entities, and that their companies cannot becommunicated well if their topcommunications executives do not intimately understand them.

[3]

Why does this understanding matter to CEOs and other members of the C-suite? In order to buildpersuasive communication programs that advance the objectives of the organization, the communicationteam, especially those who lead it, must first understand these objectives. They must also understand thecontext in which the organization is pursuing the objectives—both the business context and in externalforces.

It is extremely important to build

credibility with the publics you are trying to reach. When aspokesperson for an organization cannot convey anything beyond what is contained in carefully scriptedtalking points, the recipient of the information loses trust and confidence in the individual. Manyreporters are reluctant to speak to a media relations professional if they believe that individual does notreally understand the organization or the industry in which it operates. Communication professionals whohave a thorough understanding of business, government, community issues, and the specific organizationthey serve are simply more valuable contributors to the overall effort.

Gaining knowledge about an organization and its business objectives does not mean gaining the expertiseneeded to be CFO, General Counsel, or head of accounting. There are some fundamental areas that areimportant to understand, general principles that will help communications professionals speak morecredibly and work as more valued team members.

For example, publicly

traded, for-profit companies all operate within a set of guidelines, standardbenchmarks, and mileposts that help their publics gain insight about their financial health, prospects forgrowth, and competitive position. These measures can provide a quick snapshot of an organization’shealth in the same way that temperature, pulse rate, and blood pressure readings can give a physician ameasure of a patient’s well-being.

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Maintaining Core Competencies

How does one gain much of the knowledge referenced earlier

in addition to staying current with rapidchanges? In some cases it makes sense to do so by pursuing additional educational opportunities. Anumber of courses are offered, for example, that teach basic finance for nonfinancial managers. Somecommunication

professionals return to school to pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA) orexecutive Master of Arts (MA).

Even without taking these steps, we can learn a great deal by simply following the business media,especially the

Wall Street Journal; the

major business magazines such as

Business Week,

Fortune,and

Forbes; and broadcast media such as

CNBC

or

Fox Business. The Internet also provides an endlesssource of information about individual companies and issues that affect all types of organizations

andindustries.

In the end, conversations with colleagues can provide incredible educational opportunities. The ability tolisten, to ask insightful questions and to learn from others enables the communication professional togain ample knowledge of the workings of business in general and a single company or organization morespecifically. This knowledge, combined with an understanding of the industry and the ability to utilizecommunication expertise, provides a valuable combination of specialized abilities that can be used tobenefit the entire organization.

[1]

The Authentic Enterprise

(2007).

[2]

The Authentic Enterprise

(2007), pp. 29–30.

[3]

The Authentic Enterprise

(2007), p. 44.

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4.4

Chapter Summary

Research on best practices of public relationssponsored by the International Association of BusinessCommunicators suggests that excellent public relations occurs when the senior communicationsofficer is part of the dominant coalition and has a presence in the C-suite.

[1]

When the publicrelations function is relegated to a communication technician role, it is not fulfilling its uniquemanagement function.

As mentioned previously, this status must be earned. Public relations professionals gain that accessby providing essential information and counsel necessary for making important decisions. Whenthese communication professionals have the advanced knowledge of strategic public relations,including research and evaluation, and demonstrate business acumen, they should be a part of thatmanagement team.

The next chapter will identify other organizational factors that also influence how public relations ispracticed.

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Chapter 5

Organizational Factors for Excellent Public Relations

The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) study onExcellence in PublicRelations and Communication Management

Chapter 4 "Public Relations as a ManagementFunction", public relations professionals who demonstrate greater management skills are more likelyto participate in the C-suite. However, there are also organizational factors that influence the rolethat public relations plays in an organization. First, management must value the contributions thatpublic relations can make to an organization; second, there must be a participative culture; andthird, the organization must support diversity of people and ideas.

The

Excellence Study

found that communicator expertise was not enough to predict the best practicesof public relations.

[2]

There had to be shared expectations between the communications function andsenior management or dominant coalition. If the chief executive officer (CEO) and other topmanagers expect the public relations function to be strategic and contribute to the organization’sbottom-line goals, they often require and support practices that included research and strategicplanning and management

rather than simply press releases and media placement. Such demand foradvanced, two-way communication influences the actual practice in these organizations. It requireshiring and retaining professionals who can conduct research and analyze data that allows for morestrategic practices.

[1]

Grunig, J. E. (1992).

[2]

Grunig, Grunig, and Dozier (2002).

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5.1

Value of Public Relations

In order to gain a strategic management role in the organization, the public relations function mustshow its value tomanagement. Hambrick said that coping with uncertainty is the basis fordemonstrating value.

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Technology, workflow, and external environments all contribute to creatinguncertainties and, therefore, strategic contingencies. Excellent public relationsshould help anorganization cope with the uncertainties. This can be achieved only with data and useful information.Information theory posits that data are only useful inasmuch as they reduce uncertainty.

When the public relations function provides information and feedback about stakeholder needs andexpectations, it performs a critical task for the organization that is unique to its function. Saunders